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Directional water collection on wetted spider silk

Author

Listed:
  • Yongmei Zheng

    (School of Chemistry and Environment, Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics)

  • Hao Bai

    (National Center for Nanoscience and Technology)

  • Zhongbing Huang

    (Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (BNLMS), Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences)

  • Xuelin Tian

    (Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (BNLMS), Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences)

  • Fu-Qiang Nie

    (Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (BNLMS), Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences)

  • Yong Zhao

    (Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (BNLMS), Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences)

  • Jin Zhai

    (School of Chemistry and Environment, Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics)

  • Lei Jiang

    (Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (BNLMS), Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences)

Abstract

How spiders' silk collects water The glistening of spiders' webs on a misty morning shows that they can gather water droplets from humid air with impressive efficiency. A study of the capture silk of the spider Uloborus walckenaerius reveals that this capability depends on a structural change that occurs on wetting. 'Wet-rebuilt' fibres are characterized by periodic spindle-knots made of random nanofibrils separated by joints made of aligned nanofibrils. This structure produces a surface energy gradient between the spindle-knots and the joints, and a difference in the pressure acting on drops in contact with either the spindle-knots or the joints. This ensures that water can continuously condense around the joints and is then transported to the spindle-knots, where it can accumulate in large hanging drops. An artificial silk mimicking the structure of wetted spider silk can also gather water drops from thin mist. This work could inform the design of functional surfaces that can collect fresh water from fog, or filter liquid aerosols in industrial processes.

Suggested Citation

  • Yongmei Zheng & Hao Bai & Zhongbing Huang & Xuelin Tian & Fu-Qiang Nie & Yong Zhao & Jin Zhai & Lei Jiang, 2010. "Directional water collection on wetted spider silk," Nature, Nature, vol. 463(7281), pages 640-643, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:463:y:2010:i:7281:d:10.1038_nature08729
    DOI: 10.1038/nature08729
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    Cited by:

    1. Kuanfu Chen & Yujie Tao & Weiwei Shi, 2022. "Recent Advances in Water Harvesting: A Review of Materials, Devices and Applications," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-25, May.
    2. Tingxian Li & Minqiang Wu & Jiaxing Xu & Ruxue Du & Taisen Yan & Pengfei Wang & Zhaoyuan Bai & Ruzhu Wang & Siqi Wang, 2022. "Simultaneous atmospheric water production and 24-hour power generation enabled by moisture-induced energy harvesting," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-11, December.
    3. Ritwick Ghosh & Adrien Baut & Giorgio Belleri & Michael Kappl & Hans-Jürgen Butt & Thomas M. Schutzius, 2023. "Photocatalytically reactive surfaces for simultaneous water harvesting and treatment," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 6(12), pages 1663-1672, December.
    4. Zhifeng Jia & Yingjie Chang & Hao Liu & Ge Li & Zilong Guan & Xingchen Zhang & Ruru Xi & Pengcheng Liu & Yu Liu, 2024. "Characteristics and Estimation of Dew in the Loess Hilly Region of Northern Shaanxi Province, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(6), pages 1-18, March.
    5. Riti Thapar Kapoor & Mohd Rafatullah & Mohammad Qamar & Mohammad Qutob & Abeer M. Alosaimi & Hajer S. Alorfi & Mahmoud A. Hussein, 2022. "Review on Recent Developments in Bioinspired-Materials for Sustainable Energy and Environmental Applications," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-30, December.
    6. Zhong, Hong & Hu, Yan & Wang, Yuanhao & Yang, Hongxing, 2017. "TiO2/silane coupling agent composed of two layers structure: A super-hydrophilic self-cleaning coating applied in PV panels," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 204(C), pages 932-938.
    7. Ying Liu & Chan Wang & Zhuo Liu & Xuecheng Qu & Yansong Gai & Jiangtao Xue & Shengyu Chao & Jing Huang & Yuxiang Wu & Yusheng Li & Dan Luo & Zhou Li, 2024. "Self-encapsulated ionic fibers based on stress-induced adaptive phase transition for non-contact depth-of-field camouflage sensing," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-12, December.
    8. Ghosh, Ritwick & Ray, Tapan K. & Ganguly, Ranjan, 2015. "Cooling tower fog harvesting in power plants – A pilot study," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 1018-1028.
    9. Shereen K. Sibie & Mohamed F. El-Amin & Shuyu Sun, 2021. "Modeling of Water Generation from Air Using Anhydrous Salts," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-21, June.
    10. Yuan, Yanping & Yu, Xiaoping & Yang, Xiaojiao & Xiao, Yimin & Xiang, Bo & Wang, Yi, 2017. "Bionic building energy efficiency and bionic green architecture: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 771-787.
    11. Salehi, Ali Akbar & Ghannadi-Maragheh, Mohammad & Torab-Mostaedi, Meisam & Torkaman, Rezvan & Asadollahzadeh, Mehdi, 2020. "A review on the water-energy nexus for drinking water production from humid air," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    12. Linghui Peng & Haiyu Wang & Guiying Li & Zhishu Liang & Weiping Zhang & Weina Zhao & Taicheng An, 2023. "Bioinspired artificial spider silk photocatalyst for the high-efficiency capture and inactivation of bacteria aerosols," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-11, December.
    13. Haohao Gu & Kaixin Meng & Ruowei Yuan & Siyang Xiao & Yuying Shan & Rui Zhu & Yajun Deng & Xiaojin Luo & Ruijie Li & Lei Liu & Xu Chen & Yuping Shi & Xiaodong Wang & Chuanhua Duan & Hao Wang, 2024. "Rewritable printing of ionic liquid nanofilm utilizing focused ion beam induced film wetting," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-14, December.
    14. Ke, Yuzhi & Yuan, Wei & Zhou, Feikun & Guo, Wenwen & Li, Jinguang & Zhuang, Ziyi & Su, Xiaoqing & Lu, Biaowu & Zhao, Yonghao & Tang, Yong & Chen, Yu & Song, Jianli, 2021. "A critical review on surface-pattern engineering of nafion membrane for fuel cell applications," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    15. Adak, Deepanjana & Bhattacharyya, Raghunath & Barshilia, Harish C., 2022. "A state-of-the-art review on the multifunctional self-cleaning nanostructured coatings for PV panels, CSP mirrors and related solar devices," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    16. Zehang Cui & Yachao Zhang & Zhicheng Zhang & Bingrui Liu & Yiyu Chen & Hao Wu & Yuxuan Zhang & Zilong Cheng & Guoqiang Li & Jiale Yong & Jiawen Li & Dong Wu & Jiaru Chu & Yanlei Hu, 2024. "Durable Janus membrane with on-demand mode switching fabricated by femtosecond laser," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-10, December.

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